Chastise
by SeekHim
Summary: Captain Jason Morrick assumes command of the Enterprise. AU Part 2 of my 'A New Start' universe.
1. Arrival

Disclaimer  
I'm not making a cent from this story.  
Kirk, Spock, Scotty, Uhura, Sulu and Chekov all belong to Star Trek.  
I got the name Morrick from Neferit's 'This is the End' series.

Notes  
Other stories in this universe are, in chronological order:  
_Prologue_  
_Chastise_  
_A New Start_  
_A New Season  
Parallels  
Final Flight_  
_Unforgiven_

* * *

_Stardate 4/24/2258_  
_Shuttlebay of the Enterprise_

"Commanding Officer of the_ USS Enterprise_ arriving."

Jason Morrick stepped out of the shuttle and made his way toward the waiting podium. As he walked  
he silently gazed at the large segment of the Flagship's personnel standing at attention.

Not a single one of them smiled and neither did he.

Arriving at the podium he read out loud from his PADD.

_"To Captain Jason Morrick_  
_Stardate 2258.4.24_

_You are hereby requested and required to take command of the U.S.S Enterprise as of this date._

_Admiral Robert Lessing_  
_Starfleet Command."_

He looked out over the faces of his new crew. His eyes warmed slightly as he spotted the only one who  
gazed at him steadily, Chief Medical Officer, Uwasi Mushikiwabo. The Rwandan was both an accomplished  
surgeon and skilled pathologist. She had high recommendations both from Starfleet Medical and from all  
of her previous postings. And many years ago she had successfully treated Morrick's nephew when the boy  
had come down with a mysterious illness after visiting a remote colony with his family.

His eyes hardened as he gazed at the rest of the crew and grew harder still as he gazed at the senior staff.  
"All hands, except Senior staff, to their posts," he ordered coolly.

The crew silently filed out. Earlier that day Morrick had attended a small gathering of family and colleagues  
at Starfleet Headquarters to celebrate his new command. For the crew of the _Enterprise_ there would be no  
ceremony or reception.

"Dr. Mushikiwabo, please report to Medbay. Commander Spock, Lieutenant Commander Scott, Lieutenant Uhura,  
Lieutenant Sulu and Ensign Chekov, report to the Briefing Room. Remain standing when you get there."


	2. Briefing Room

_Enterprise Briefing Room_

The_ Enterprise_ senior staff stood at attention in the Briefing Room. Commander Spock's face was his usual  
stoic mask but the rest of them radiated guilt, dread and a desire to be anywhere but there.

Captain Morrick stood in front of them. For a few moments he silently gazed at them, face expressionless,  
before finally speaking in a quiet voice. "So. This is the senior staff of the _USS Enterprise_. The crew that  
defeated Nero. The crew that saved Earth. The crew that flies the finest ship in the Fleet. And the crew  
that betrayed their Captain."

Everyone except for Commander Spock flinched.

"People are calling what happened the _Enterprise Incident_," Morrick continued. "I disagree with that title.  
I personally met with Kirk several times. I saw first-hand the damage that was done to him. Done to him  
by his rapists and especially done by you."

Morrick's eyes turned to flint and his next words were a hiss. "You were _Starfleet officers_. Senior officers  
of the_ Flagship_. It's bad enough that the rest of the crew acted the way they did but you…you were his  
_senior staff_. The ones that he worked with the most closely. The ones that he should have been able to  
trust the most."

Morrick's next words were thick with disappointment. "It was ten days from the time that he was raped  
until the time that he decided to leave. Another week before he actually left. All together that's seventeen  
days. Over two weeks. _Two weeks _when your Captain was hurting and you didn't _notice or care."_

There were flinches again.

"During all of that time none of you gave him so much as a kind word." He turned a disappointed look  
toward Lieutenant Commander Scott. "Instead you gave him amused, sarcastic comments."

The Chief Engineer looked downward in shame.

The gaze Morrick turned on Lieutenant Uhura paralyzed her. "Or you gave him harsh words and condemnation."

The look he turned on Commander Spock was withering. "When he tried to ask you for help you told him  
to keep his personal affairs to himself."

The Commander finally flinched. Very faint, barely noticeable, but there.

Morrick turned to Lieutenant Sulu, "Or you avoided him, having more important things to do." He stepped  
closer to the Helmsman. "This was not only your Captain, this was the same man _who saved your life_.  
And you couldn't spare a moment of your time _to even listen to him."_

The Helmsman's face was as pale as a ghost.

Morrick looked each of them in the eyes for a moment and his next words, although quiet and measured,  
rang like a shout. "You were his senior staff and he trusted you. But when he needed you the most you  
turned your backs on him. You_ abandoned_ him. And in the process you hurt him more than his rapists  
ever could. That was far more than an_ incident_. It was nothing less than despicable."

Ensign Chekov was shaking.

Morrick continued, his words flat and cold. "By rights you should each be dishonorably discharged or stripped  
of rank. At the very least you should be removed from active duty and confined to Earth indefinitely.  
Starfleet decided not to do any of those things for the simple reason that we can't spare you. We lost thousands  
of officers at Vulcan; we're severely understaffed and we need every single crewmember we have. Kicking you  
out would only weaken Starfleet further and we can't afford that.

"Many thought that you should be split up and sent to different ships. But it was decided to keep you here  
on the _Enterprise _for two reasons. Number one: this is the Flagship, she needs the finest minds and hands  
in the Fleet and each of you have the highest scores in your respective fields. Transferring you to other, less  
important ships would mean that we'd have to replace you with less skilled personnel and we can't afford that  
either. Number two: Starfleet decided that it's best to keep troublemakers like you in one place."

At the word 'troublemakers' there was another collective flinch.

"So all of you are staying here and that means that you're _mine_ to deal with." His next words were questioning.  
"And how _should _I deal with you? Should I have you restricted to quarters when off duty? Have you serve under  
close supervision? Have your privileges limited? Deny you shore leaves?"

"It may surprise you to learn that I'm not going to do any of those things. I'm not going to punish you at all."  
He paused. "Because we're way beyond that." His eyes now were not only hard but sad as well. "In all my years  
in Starfleet, _no crew _has ever betrayed their Captain's trust as you have." He continued heavily. "And no punishment  
that I could give you would begin  
to mend that."

The Senior staff remained silent and still but the guilt and shame in their eyes spoke volumes.

Morrick sighed. "I've thought long and hard about each of you and the rest of this crew. I've tried to understand  
why you acted the way you did. Kirk is the youngest Captain Starfleet has ever had. Maybe that was part  
of the problem. Maybe deep down you still saw him as the cocky cadet who cheated on the _Kobayashi Maru_."

He turned to Lieutenant Uhura. "Maybe _you_ still saw him as a dumb hick who only had sex with farm animals."

The Chief of Communications looked as if she had been stabbed.

Morrick turned to Commander Spock "And maybe _you_ still saw him as the troublesome cadet who cheated  
on your test, flouted regulations, defied logic...and was rewarded for it. Well, you must be experiencing great  
satisfaction now, Mr. Spock. He emotionally compromised you and you helped to compromise him. He was  
promoted instead of you and now, thanks in part to you, he's gone and may never hold another command  
again. Congratulations."

The Vulcan's face remained expressionless but his eyes gave away the storm of emotions within him.

"Most of you are young. Some of you hadn't even graduated yet when you became officers on this ship.  
The rest of you are among the Academy's most distinguished graduates. And some of you are among  
the youngest officers Starfleet has ever had. All of that is due to your exceptional skills. All of you are  
here because Starfleet needs those skills and the Flagship needs to be crewed by the brightest and the best.

"But being the brightest doesn't necessarily mean being the best. Being logical doesn't necessarily mean  
being right. And being brilliant doesn't necessarily mean being wise. In fact, too often the opposite is true."  
His gaze grew slightly thoughtful and concerned. "Too often brilliance leads to arrogance. Brilliance and  
arrogance are_ very_ bad combinations and combined with youth it's even worse."

His eyes once again grew hard. "But arrogance, even pride, is something that none of you have any right  
to feel. You and the rest of the crew of the _Enterprise_ are the brightest, but you're _not_ the best. You're a  
brilliant crew but you're not a _good_ crew. Because you broke the one rule that makes a crew a good crew-  
never let your Captain down."

Again there were flinches. Ensign Chekov's lip was trembling.

"Kirk is gone. I'm your Captain now and things are going to be very different. I've been a Starfleet officer  
since before most of you were born. I led an away mission comprised solely of fellow ensigns to rescue  
an ambassador and his family. I took charge of the bridge of the _Defiance_ when its Captain, First Officer  
and half of its crew were killed. I've been in the trenches and faced death more times than I can count.  
So believe me when I say that I know how to handle insubordinate crewmembers. Kirk trusted you too  
quickly and he paid the price. I won't make that mistake."

His eyes grew harder still. "I'm going to be watching all of you like a hawk. Day and night, both on duty  
and off, I'm going to be breathing down your necks. A _single_ transgression, no matter how minor, one  
_hint_ of disrespect and you're off this ship."

"While you're aboard this ship you will be under my constant scrutiny. But you'll be grateful." At noticing  
the slightly puzzled looks in their eyes he continued. "You'll be grateful for every minute that you spend  
on board the _Enterprise. _Because the scrutiny that you'll endure while you're _on_ this ship will be a picnic  
compared to the scrutiny you'll endure while you're _off_ it."

He noted their eyes widening with realization and dismay.

"You betrayed your Captain, and everybody knows it. By now practically everyone in the Federation has  
heard about the _Enterprise Incident_. I'm going to be hard on you but that's nothing compared to how hard  
others will be."

His eyes grew sad again even as his voice remained hard. "You're my crew and I'm responsible for you.  
Even though you betrayed your former Captain, _I_ won't betray _you_. No matter how hard I'll be on you,  
you'll always know that I at least have your best interests at heart. Most of the people that you'll encounter  
off this ship will have no such claims. If you thought that the stares, whispers and comments that Kirk  
endured before he left were hard, that's nothing compared to the ones that you'll get. And unlike Kirk,  
every single one of them will be deserved.

"_That_ will be your punishment. Knowing what you've done and knowing that everyone else knows it as well."

His voice was heavy once again. "You betrayed your Captain's trust and in the process the trust of countless  
others. You not only lost _his_ respect but that of everyone in Starfleet if not the Federation. And you're going  
to find that it will take you a _very_ long time to earn those things back. If indeed you ever do. Dismissed."

End


End file.
